Between Heaven and Earth
by Cynic X
Summary: An alt. reality piece about Serena and Darien admitting their feelings for one another.


Between Heaven and Earth

Between Heaven and Earth

5/30/01

Cynic X

"…"-dialogue

'…'-thoughts

*****-scene change

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters. frowns No money is being made. shows empty pockets This is an AU piece about Serena and Darien. Feedback is appreciated, since I might write a sequel if I can come up with something. Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Present…

'Ah, Finally, I'm on my own. No more annoying little brothers, no more having my mother tell me what to do, or yelling at me for failing a test. I am FREE! To do whatever I pleased, whenever I pleased, and to top it all off, it didn't hurt that I had my own apartment now. I didn't have to lie to my mother anymore about where I went in the middle of the night, or about getting caught. The two-bedroom apartment was just what I was looking for. The girls could come over anytime they want. Yup, It was just me and Luna now' she said with a smile, 'even though most of the time Luna stayed with Artemis.'

"Anyway, if I don't hurry up, I'm going to be totally late!" Serena said, as she grabbed her bag, trying to put on her shoes, and open the door at the same time. Old habits die hard you know. Serena went down to the parking lot, and got into her car, and headed for TU, or Tokyo University. And yes, gasp she had gotten into college, to the surprise of her friends, as well as family. She had worked hard, and with Amy's help, managed to pass high school, and even get accepted into the same college that all the girls were going to. Rei dropped out of her all girls' school to join them, and Amy even gave up going to a big fancy medical school to study to be a doctor, to stay with her friends. It was so much fun that they were all be together, not to mention, a lot easier to get to sailor battles, since they were all generally together most of the time. 'Yup, after six years, the responsibility of being Sailor Moon had not gone away.' They still had attacks regularly, but it was just her and the inner scouts. They haven't heard from the outers in a while, or Tuxedo Mask. Who ever he was, they never did find out, since one day he just dropped off the face of the Earth. Weird…Everything has changed so much since she started college. Besides growing up, she lost contact with a lot of her old friends. Molly went to the US, and Darien stopped coming around during the summer that just passed.' 

"Three months, and no being called Meatball Head, what am I going to do?" She asked, out loud in her car, as she turned onto a side street. 'Deep down, she really did like Darien and the nickname, though she would never admit it. She hadn't been to the arcade in ages. It had gotten to the point where it was too awkward for all the girls to just get up and run out of the place, and they didn't want to bring Andrew into the whole super hero mess. Still, she hadn't seen one of her best friends in three months.'

"I wonder how they all are" she thought out loud, as she pulled into a space on the university grounds, and got out of the car so fast, so she would be on time for her first period class.

'Hmm…Wonder what I will be studying today, besides the inside of my eye lids' Serena thought as she entered the building and into the noisy halls. Everyone was busying talking about the up coming vacation. One week of pure bliss, and she couldn't wait to catch up on her sleep, and more sleep, and sleep, you get the picture…

Three Months Ago…

'CAN YOU BELIVE IT? I won't be able to see Serena for three months, and then who know what will happen now that she's in college? God, can anyone believe that Meatball head was actually able to graduate high school? She's such a klutz, a crybaby, a beautiful, kind, WOAH, where did that come from?' Darien thought to himself as he drove home from work. He had graduated last year, and now had a job as a software programmer, at a firm in the heart of Tokyo. He still made his daily trip to the arcade to see "her", but he never did tell her his true feelings. Day dreaming about Serena, as he drove home, Darien failed to see the truck run the red light, as he proceeded into the intersection. All he saw was bright head light; heard busting glass and metal crunching, before he could open his mouth to scream. The truck driver smashed him in the driver's side, and everything went dark. The last thoughts in this world were of "Serena"…

"Oh my God, do I have a headache" Darien said, as he tried to open his eyes, but was blinded once again by a light. Moaning, he tuned over, only to come face to face with another person. Startled, he jumped up, yelling, 

"Who the hell are you?"

"Me" the person asked pointing to itself.

"Yeah" Darien said sarcastically.

"I'm an angel" It replied with a smile.

"What?! Where an I then?" Darien asked, fully believing that it was a dream.

"You, my friend are in heaven."

"Yeah right, then that would mean that I am…" He was suddenly interrupted.

"Dead, 'fraid so" The angel replied.

"B…But how?" Darien asked as the idea set in.

"About two months ago, by a truck. It crashed your car. You died in the hospital, a couple of hours later" the angel replied solemnly.

"Oh man" Darien said as he ran his fingers through his hair, as the information sunk in, and he started to remember what happened.

"Why was I out for so long then?" Darien asked.

"Hey, these things take time, and what do you care? Your dead, you have all eternity" the angel replied.

"If I am dead, then how am I here?" Darien asked the angel, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Ah, you see that's the ringer! You're not supposed to be dead!" The angel said as it smirked.

"Umm…okay, like that makes a lot of sense" Darien said shrugging.

"But it does. See you died before your time. You didn't fulfill your destiny, and therefore you have been given a second chance." The angel said.

"A second chance…really?" Darien asked.

"Yup, but there are certain conditions to this." The angel stated.

"What kind of conditions?" Darien asked.

"I'll tell you," the angel said, as it started to whisper into Darien's ear. Suddenly Darien's face went pale, as he felt sick to his stomach.

"You got to be kidding me!" he said.

"Nope, those are the rules, like it or not. Or would you rather remain dead?"

"B…but that's impossible. No way it will happen!" Darien said, as he turned his head down with defeat.

"No one ever said that coming back after you died was easy" the angel replied placing its hand on Darien's shoulder.

"No, I suppose not." Darien said, not looking up.

"Well, ready to start your mission?" The angel asked enthusiastically.

"I guess, but I got one question. Am I going to be like a ghost, or like my old self?" Darien asked with confusion.

"To her, you'll be like your old self, and to everyone in the same general area, but you will still be dead." The angel stated.

"Then that means I can go and see my own grave?" Darien asked with a sinking feeling coming over him.

"Uhhh, I guess…" the angel replied.

"Creepy" Darien said, as he followed the angel back through the gates.

Present…

"Hey guys, What's up?" Serena asked, as she met her friends in the hall of the university. Lita, Amy, Rei, and Mina, were still her best friends, and always met together after school, especially on a Friday before vacation; the perfect time to hang out.

"Nothing much" Mina said with a yawn.

"Classes were so boring today, but at least I don't have a lot of homework." Rei said. The group shook their heads in agreement.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Lita said with excitement. "Since we all don't have that much work to do, why don't we drive back to the old neighborhood, and go to the arcade!"

"Sounds great!" Serena cried with excitement, as they excited the building, got into her card, and drove back to the center of Tokyo, where the arcade was located. It was a bright day, and they rolled the windows down, and sung along with the radio.

"Hey…" Mina said, as they neared the arcade, "Do you think Andrew is still there?"

"I don't know" Rei said, as she turned to face the group. "He said he might have been moving, but that was before school let out, do you think he did?"

"I hope not!" Serena said as she parked the car. "I want to catch up on old gossip." The group walked through the automatic doors, and were disappointed to see that Andrew was not behind the counter. They hadn't visited the arcade all summer because they were too busy moving and adjusting that they barely had any free time.

"Hey! Let's ask the guy behind the counter where Andrew is." Lita said as they approached the new arcade attendant.

"Excuse me sir, but do you know where Andrew went?" Rei asked sweetly.

"Yeah, he moved about two months ago, to another part of Japan, about an hours ride from here." The guy said as he whipped the counter.

"I guess he don't work here anymore." Lita said sadly.

"Well we came all the way here, why not eat?" Amy said, as the group sat down at a booth. After ordering burgers and fries, the girls talked about how much things had changed, and about how quite sailor business had been lately.

"Gosh, I can't believe Andrew doesn't work here anymore, he practically lived here." Serena said in between bites.

"I know, I wonder what happened to Darien." Rei said, looking around the arcade, hoping to see him.

"Maybe he moved on too." Mina said solemnly.

"Well I don't miss him," Serena said crossing her arms. She really did care for him, but refused to let her friends know in fear that they would tease her about how impossible it was. "He always made fun of me, I'm glad he's not around."

"Oh come on Serena, we all knew you had a crush on him, who do you think you're kidding?!" Rei said as she poked Serena in the ribs, causing her to turn a bright red.

"I do not," Serena said, as she blushed worse. After some more talking, the girls played some video games, and left to drive back to the outskirts of town, where they all lived now. They parted ways, and went to their dorm rooms or apartments.

When Serena entered her apartment, she flung herself on the couch.

"Hmm…What to do? I could do homework, but that isn't very fun, and their isn't anything on TV, maybe I'll take a walk to the park, and see if the roses bloomed yet." And with that, she grabbed her coat and keys, and walked the short distance to the park. Failing to watch where she was going, since she was too busy looking at the beautiful flowers, she once again walked into something soft, but firm.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Serena said as she turned her face upwards, and gasped. "D…Darien?" She asked, as she looked into midnight blue eyes.

"Hi, Serena" Darien said with a smile.

"What are you doing here? I haven't see you in such a long time, what happened?" She asked with a smile.

"Umm…" He didn't really wanting to tell her what actually happened, because he knew he would fail his quest, so instead he replied, "I've been on vacation all summer, the United States is really something."

"Really, you're so lucky," Serena said as she pouted her lower lip. "Hey, want to come with me to the park? To catch up on all the gossip that you missed out on since you left?" she asked, hoping he would. As with the girls, Serena had a crush on Darien, but refused to tell him as well because she was sure that she would be rejected. 'He's so much more mature and sophisticated than I am.' She knew he could never be hers, yet, she didn't mind spending the time with him, and since for some unknown reason, he was being nice to her, she wasn't going to miss her chance get acquainted with a friend.

"Sure, I'd love to" Darien said as he feel in step next to her. "So, Serena, you really did end up going to college?" he asked joking around.

"Yes, I did" she said as she stuck her tongue out, "I go with Amy, Lita, Mina and Rei to the university, and I even have my own apartment. So Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah!" She said with a smile.

"Really you mean your parents actually let you stay by yourself, and they aren't afraid you're going to burn the place down?" he said, as they walked down a path, towards the lake.

"No! Baka! (idiot), I just never cook!" she said as they approached the edge of the lake. "Look how cheerful everyone is." She said, as she saw the excitement around the lake. 'It's a perfect day to be outside' she though happily.

"Yeah" Darien said, not really joining in her enthusiasm.

"It's so full of life and happiness." Serena said, as her eyes spanned the park.

Darien winced; after all, he was still technically "dead". 'Hmm…have to find out where my grave is, and make sure Serena never goes there.' He thought to himself.

"What's the matter Darien? Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" Serena asked, as she looked up at him.

"Nothing really…Hey look!" Darien said, pointing to a ice cream cart, I'll buy you ice cream."

"You're on!" Serena said, as she ran ahead.

"Yup, somethings never change." Darien said to himself, as he followed behind her.

Later…

"Gosh, I'm tired" Serena said when she got home. She had been with Darien the whole afternoon, catching up on old times, talking, and just having so much fun, that she had lost track of time. "Guess I'll take a shower, and get some sleep, after all, tomorrow's Saturday, and I can sleep in as late as I want for the next week!" she said happily, as she went into the bathroom, and later, laid down to catch up on some much needed sleep. 'College sure does wear you out, especially when you have to work really hard just to pass.' She thought as she yawned and turned to face the window, the moonlight illuminating her face, as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

****

'It was the middle of the night, and here I am, sneaking into her room, well, I'm not actually breaking in, it's more like I'm walking through the walls. Being dead, did have some benefits.' Darien thought, as he walked through Serena's apartment door, and into her bedroom. He had learned that he could make himself totally invisible, and was able to walk through walls, but that was about it. 'Just like a ghost', he thought. He had gone to her watch her while she slept. He just had to be with her. 'She's so beautiful,' Darien thought, as he sat on the edge of the bed, and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. 'I'm really going to miss her the most, if I fail.' He said, as a tear fell down his cheek. 'I should really be going' he thought as he got off the bed and was about to leave, when he heard Serena start to cry and scream.

"Endymion, no, how could you, why did you have to die and leave me all alone? What am I going to do without you, I can't do this alone!"

'Endymion, where have I heard that name before? Hmm…can't really remember, must not be that important. It looks like she's having a nightmare. Should I try to wake her?' he thought as he approached the bed one again, and looked down, to see that Serena was now indeed crying in her sleep.

"Serena, come on, you have to wake up." Darien said as he tried to get her to open her eyes.

"No, Beryl, I won't let you win!" Serena cried, as she tried to fight Darien off.

"Serena! What's wrong?!" Darien said, as he finally got her to open her eyes.

"Endymion!" Serena said when she saw Darien's face.

"Huh?" Darien said with confusion.

At this point, Serena started to gather her wits, and come out of the dream. "Darien, what are you doing here?"

"I heard you crying, and came to see if you are all right"

"Umm…Thanks, I guess, I'm okay, just had a bad dream, that's all." She said, as she tried to muster a smile.

"It sounded really bad, want to talk about it?" He asked, trying to find out why she had called him Endymion.

"I…I" she looked like she was trying to think, "I can't remember what it was about. It was so real when it was happening, but now…now I can't remember a thing," Serena said with frustration.

"That's okay. Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll let my self out." Darien said, as he started for the door.

"Wait, could you stay until I fall asleep?" She asked softly.

With a gentile smile, he turned to her and whispered, "Sure", and took a seat in the chair near her bedroom window.

"Thank you Darien. Maybe now I'll have pleasant dreams," she said as she pulled the covers over her.

"Good night Serena"

"Night Darien"

Next morning…

Serena woke with a yawn, and cried, "I don't want to get up, I was having the best dream" she sighed, as he alarm clock started going off. "Shut the hell up!" she said, as she threw it against her bedroom door." She started to fall asleep again, never noticing that it was already well past her normal waking time, when she heard a knock on the door. "Leave me alone!" she shouted, as a reply to the knocking. 'Wasn't Darien here last night? Probably was just my imagination acting up again.' She thought, as she tried to ignore the knocking.

"Come on, get up Serena!" said a voice from the hall.

"Noooo!" she shouted. 

"If you don't open the door, I'll come in and get you myself!"

"You can't do that!" she screamed back.

"Wanna make a bet Meatball Head?" Darien said, as he looked around the hall, saw that there was no one around, and walked through the door. He went through the apartment, to the bedroom, like her did the night before, and opened the door to see Serena sprawled on the bed sleeping, peacefully this time. Almost not wanting to wake her, but looking forward too much to spending time with her, he cried, "Wake up Meatball Brains!" Darien said, as he pulled the covers off her.

"Hey, What are you doing here! How did you get in?!" she asked, half asleep, and half in alarm.

"I have my ways, now get up, we're going to lunch" he said, as he tried to pulled her out of bed.

"No, Put me down! It's a weekend, and I want to sleep!!" she said, grabbing on to a bedpost. She didn't really ponder the thought of how Darien got in, just that he was here, and she didn't like it.

"I'll wait for you to get ready," he said as he carried her down the hall, Serena kicking and screaming, until he dumped her, bed sheets and all into the empty bathtub.

"You are so dead Darien!" she screamed, as she tried to untangle herself from the sheets.

"You don't know that half of it." Darien whispered to himself, as he walked solemnly over to the couch. 'I can't believe they only gave me a week to do this! She isn't really cooperating, but at least she isn't suspicious of why I'm being nice to her. I always did like her, but my making fun of her, was in some twisted way, a way for me to have the nerve to talk to her. Now, I just have to be myself, and hope for the best.' After a while, he heard the bathroom door open, and Serena came into the living room, fully dressed, and ready to go.

"Mr. Shields, you better have some excuse for depriving me of my sleep. I have a week off from school, and I didn't want to get up at all, but here I am, so you better make it worth my while. And if you don't you are gonna pay!" she said, as her mouth turned up with a smile.

"Yes ma'am" Darien said with a smile, as the two walked out the door and down the street.

"So, where are we going?" Serena asked, as she walked besides him down the street.

"It's a surprise." Darien said, as they turned the corner. 'This sucks', he thought, 'we could have been there by now if I had my car, but I guess they won't give a licensee to a dead guy.'

"Here we are." Darien said, as he walked through the door of a restaurant.

"Are you crazy, this place costs a fortune!" Serena said, refusing to step through the door.

"Who cares about that, I'm just looking to have a nice afternoon with a pretty girl" Darien said with a sincere smile as Serena blushed.

"Well, okay, what ever you want" Serena said, as she followed him and sat down. Lunch was great, and not once did the two of them fight. Darien tried to keep the conversation focused on Serena, because he didn't want to talk about himself. Afterwards, they walked around town with each other; they had no real destination, other than enjoying each other's presence.

"My feet hurt Darien" Serena said with a frown, but an idea hit her. "Why don't we go back to my place and watch a movie?" she said hopefully.

"Sure, I'd love to" Darien said truthfully, and they walked back to her apartment. Serena popped the movie in, and they both sat on the couch eating popcorn, but neither one was really concentrating on the movie; both were lost deep in their own thoughts.

'I wonder why he is being so nice to me' Serena though, as she tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth, 'It's like he's a totally different person. Not that I'm complaining. I always liked Darien, I never admitted it, in fear of rejection and embarrassment, but now he's changed, and we haven't fought once. I really enjoy being around him, I hope he doesn't revert back to his old ways.'

'Wow' Darien thought. 'She looks so beautiful, even more so than when I last saw her. I'm glad that we aren't fighting. Everything seems so right when I'm around her.'

The night was spent like this, both lost in their own worlds of an unspoken attraction, hoping that the other would return their feelings, yet fearing rejection if they were revealed. When the movie was over, Serena stood up, and walked over to the TV.

"Wow, that movie was really something wasn't it." She said as she took it out of the VCR.

"Yeah, something" Darien said with a smile. He looked at his watch, and saw it was late, and feared that if he stayed any longer, he would be giving Serena the wrong impression.

"I guess I should be going." He said, as he stood up to leave. 

Serena pouted, and replied, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Darien turned around suddenly, "You sure?" he asked.

She blushed and said, "I'm sure" as she sat back on the couch. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

"This", he said as he sat next to her and put his arm around her small shoulders. To his surprise, she didn't pull away. In fact, she came closer, until her heard rested on his chest.

'This feels so right.' He thought as a smile formed on his lips.

'If this is a dream, I don't want to ever wake up.' Serena thought, as she laid there in his arms. After a short comfortable silence, the two started talking about things in general, like school, and how the girls were. After a while, both started to doze off locked in each other's arms.

"Morning Serena" Darien said as he looked down at the girl in his arms.

"D…Darien," she said with a shocked smile. "We slept on the couch the whole night?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin.

"Sorry about that" she said as she started to get up. "I must have fallen asleep. I hope you don't think I'm a poor host. This is the first time I'm really doing this, you know, the whole living on your own thing."

"No problem" he said as he followed her. 

"I have to do some chores today wanna help?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"Okay" he replied. The day passed quickly, as they went from store to store, buying groceries, picking up laundry, etc. 

"I had a wonderful time," Darien said, as he dropped on to her couch exhausted.

"Yeah, especially when we had that fight with grapes at the supermarket!" she said with a smile, as she sat down next to him.

"Serena" Darien asked slowly.

"Yes" 

"Would you go out to diner with me tomorrow night?" 

"Of course" she said with excitement.

"Great, around eight?" he asked with a little more confidence.

"Sound like a plan then" she said.

"Tomorrow" Darien said as he got up to leave.

"Tomorrow" she agreed as she saw him out. When she thought he was out of hearing distance of the entire building, a huge smile crossed her face, as announced to the entire empty apartment that she "has a date with Darien!"

Tomorrow night…

"You look stunning Serena" Darien said they walked into the restaurant. Serena was wearing a long silver dress that seemed to glow when it caught the light right. Her hair was hanging loose for a change, and seemed to possess an unreal shine.

"You don't look half bad yourself," Serena said as they sat down at a table. After orders were taken, Serena tried to make some small conversation.

"So Darien, what are you doing now a days?"

"Actually, I'm on a secret mission." He said with a smile.

"Right, I bet you are" Serena said with a side way's look and a smile. She decided to play along with his game. "And what exactly is this mission?"

"I'm out to save the world." Darien said, half in truth, and half comically.

"And how do you plan to do that Mr. Super Hero?" Serena asked trying to seem serious, knowing fully that Darien was playing around.

"With my good looks and charm of course" Darien said with a cocky smile, though on the inside, he felt a sense of dread at the truth in the statement.

"Ha Ha Ha. Very funny. Hey Look, our food's here, let's eat!" Serena said as she picked up her fork.

'Good old Serena' Darien thought as he joined her…

*****

They spent the majority of the week with each other, whether they went to the movies, or the mall to go shopping, the park, or just hanging out and enjoy each others company. 

It was the middle of the afternoon, and Serena hadn't seen Darien all day. She was waiting for him, because they were going to walk over to their old hangout at the arcade.

"Where is he?" She said, as she waited near the door, just as the bell rang.

"You're late," she said as she threw open the door."

"Umm…package for a Ms. Serena Tsukino?" a mailman said as he held out a package.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else. Thanks." Serena said as she accepted the package and closed the door. There was no return address, she noted as she opened the package. Inside was a single thorn-less rose with a note…

__

I'm sorry I can't be there tonight Serena, I got held up at work, but I promise you, I'll meet you tomorrow, an you can decide where we go. Until then…

-Darien

"Oh Darien, what am I going to do with you?" Serena asked, as she brought the flower up to her nose to inhale the sweet scent.

"Guess it's a girls night in tonight. I wonder what's on TV?" Serena asked as she laid down on the couch the rose never leaving her hands.

The Next Day…

Serena was cleaning up her apartment when the bell rang. 'I wasn't expecting anyone?' she thought as she opened the door. "Darien!" she cried as she gave him a hug.

'Gosh, I didn't think she would be this happy to see me. But I can't go to the arcade. If I'm dead, Andrew's sure to know, and then everything will be upset. I have to try and stay as far away from there as possible.'

"Hey Serena," Darien said with a smile. "I'm so sorry about yesterday." He said apologetically. 'Because I can't get anywhere near the arcade, I had to break out date. And it's so hard to say "no" when she asks.' He though.

"Well, you're forgiven this time." She said with a smile.

"Thank you so much your highness." Darien said with a smile. "So where do you want to go? I heard that there's a carnival in town." Darien said hoping to take her mind off the arcade.

Serena looked down at her feet. "Darien, I kinda hoped we could go to the arcade like we planned."

Darien couldn't tell her why he can't go to the arcade, so instead he had to comply with her request and hope for the best outcome. "The arcade it is then," Darien said as he tried to muster a smile.

"Oh Darien you are the best. It'll be just like old times, without all the fighting you know!" Serena said with excitement, as she practically dragged him out of her building. 

"You know, I was just here last weekend with the girl" she said as they walked through the glass doors.

"Really" Darien said nervously as they sat in a booth.

"Yeah, Andrew doesn't work here anymore." Serena said with a frown. Darien just sighed in relief. Now he was able to relax about not having his secret exposed. They both ordered a burger and fries, and afterwards, played video games like five-year-olds until going and having dessert.

"Ah…" Serena said as she put the spoon in her mouth. "Sugar is the best thing in the world." Darien couldn't help but laugh.

"So Darien, have you heard from Andrew? You guys were best friends, I'm sure he still talks with you. I would have thought you would have known he doesn't work at the arcade anymore." Serena asked, as she finished off her dessert.

'Uh…oh…cornered…' Darien though, as he tried to think fast.

"I changed apartments, and really wasn't able to come to the arcade that much, we lost contact I guess" Darien said solemnly at the irony of the situation.

When dessert was done, Darien walked Serena home, and said good-bye. Walking into her apartment, after the good-byes were said, Serena decided to call the girls and see if they could get together. Unfortunately, after four phone calls, she found out that all were busy.

"This bites!" Serena whined as she placed the phone back into the receiver. "Here I am on a Friday night with nothing to do." Looking out the window, she got an idea. 'I'll go for a drive down near the coast! The sunset is the best there." And with that she got her keys and left. On the drive down, she thought about her and Darien. Things were definitely warming up between them. Still she felt silly at mentioning her feelings for him. 'Darien, why do you have to be so perfect?' She thought with a smile, as she turned up the radio, and turned onto the gravel path. 'Just one flaw, one flaw is all that I am asking for, so I can stop thinking about him 24/7!'

"Wow, the sunset is so beautiful. Such amazing colors." She said out loud, as she sat down on a rock near the beach's edge, while the soft breeze played with her hair. The sky was turning every shade of red, orange, yellow, pink and purple, as the water reflected the painted sky, while it danced upon the waves. Silently sitting there, staring at the sun as it slowly slipped below the horizon, she lost track of time, and only came out of her revere when her stomach rumbled.

"Hmm…Maybe I should get something to eat?" She said reluctantly at having to get back into her car, and leave the peacefulness that the beach possessed. After having driven down the road a ways, she came upon a small restaurant and decided to go in and have some diner. Walking through the doors, she was promptly seated at a booth and given a menu.

'What to have, what to have?' she thought as her eyes trailed down the menu.

"Can I take your ord-…Serena?"

She looked up and was shocked to see the familiar face of one of her best friends.

"Andrew!!" she cried with a smile, as she jumped up out of her seat to give him a hug.

"Hey Serena, long time not see." Andrew said with a smile, and returned the hug. "What brought you down here?"

"I decided to take a drive. I was so disappointed to find out that you don't work at the arcade anymore." Serena said as she playfully frowned.

"Yeah, well, I was thinking about moving, and after the accident, I decided a change of scenery might be good." Andrew said, as he turned his face down.

"What do you mean, accident? Andrew are you okay?" Serena asked as concern washed over her face.

"Yeah, but didn't you hear what had happened? I know you girls stopped coming around after you graduated, but news like that usually spreads like wildfire." Andrew said with confusion.

"No, What?" She asked as she started to worry about what had happened.

"About Darien, with the truck and all?" Andrew asked solemnly.

"What about Darien? He's fine, I just saw him earlier today!" Serena said anxiously.

"Serena, that's impossible. Darien died three months ago."

"What are you talking about? I just saw him and he looked like he was alive and breathing to me." She said as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"Serena, I don't know who you saw, but he's buried about half and hours drive from here. I'm off in a couple of minutes, If you want, we could drive over to the cemetery and I'll prove it to you." Andrew replied, while Serena tried hard to swallow since she felt like throwing up.

"Umm...fine, I'll just wait in the booth over there until you're off." Serena said, walking towards a back booth. 'What the hell is going on?' She thought. 'How can he be dead. I was with him all week, and he seemed pretty much alive to me. What if he is dead? What am I going to do?'

"Serena" It interrupted her thoughts. "Ready to go?" Asked Andrew. She shook her head "yes", and followed him through the doors. They decided to take her car, since it was a distance away from where they were, and Andrew, unfortunately didn't have his car with him that day. Andrew gave Serena directions, and after a while, a cemetery came into view. Serena parked the car in front, and the two got out.

"This is it" Andrew replied, "Follow me, it isn't far from here." Serena followed him; head cast down, deep in thoughts, when she suddenly looked up.

"Wait…Andrew, how exactly did he die?" She asked tears filling her eyes as reality started to sink in. 'Darien's dead' she though with grief, 'Andrew wouldn't lie, let alone drag me into a cemetery as a joke.' She tried to wipe the fallen tears as best as she could with her sleeve.

"In a car accident" He replied. "It was a couple of days after the end of school. A truck drove through a stop sign, crashing into Darien's car. He received severe head trauma that knocked him unconscious on the spot. I was called by the hospital and told that with all the internal complications he had, and since he was now in a coma, there was really no chance he'd ever pull through. I had to give them permission to pull the plug on my best friend." Andrew replied as he tried to blink back the tears that were forming.

"Hey, it's not your fault." Serena said with glassy eyes. "You did what you thought was best. No one wanted to see him suffer any longer than he had too."

"It doesn't make it any easier though. Here it is, this is where he's buried." Andrew said, pointing to a head stone."

Serena came up behind him and stopped as she read the inscription on the headstone.

"D…Darien…Sh…Shields" She tried, but tears choked her up. 'Gone, but never forgotten' she read in her mind. 'He's gone…how, what's going on? Andrew's not lying, the grass didn't even have a chance to cover where the grave was dug.' She noticed.

'Oh Darien, why did it have to be you?' she thought as tears silently slid down her face, and hit the headstone.

"I'm sorry Serena. I don't know who you saw, but it couldn't have been Darien." Andrew said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I know Andrew, but I could have sworn it was him. I'm not feeling too well, do you mind if we leave. I'll drive you home." Serena asked, standing up from her kneeling position in front of the grave.

"Not at all" Andrew said, as the two walked quietly back to her car. After she drove Andrew home, she drove back to her apartment to get some rest, but mainly to forget about that nights revelations. But sleep would not come to her. She tossed all night, thinking about what had happened that week, and what was going to happen now that the man she supposedly had been with all week was actually dead.

'Just who was I with then? It looked and sounded like Darien, but it's impossible' she thought, staring at her ceiling. 

"How am I going to face him, who ever he was?" She moaned out loud when she saw the dark sky turn to colors. Dawn meant that she would be seeing "Darien" and having to face what was happening, and how crazy it all sounded. She felt sick for the second time that night, because deep down, she sensed that she was going to lose Darien, if that was even possible. 'Maybe I never had him?' she thought, as she was broken out of her thought by the sounding of her doorbell. She rushed down the hall and opened it, to find Darien standing in the hall. 'He sure looks alive to me.' She thought with confusion.

"Wow! Serena, you answered your door, and I didn't even have to come in and get you up." Darien said with a smile.

"I don't feel much like joking today Darien. I had a tough night." Serena said seriously.

"What's wrong?" Darien asked with alarm.

"Nothing. I just got some bad news about a friend. I was wondering if you would come with me to the library today. I have a paper due for school after vacation, and I haven't started it yet." Serena asked sweetly, trying to put her plan into action.

"Sure" Darien replied, as he waited for her to get ready and accompanied her to the library around the corner. Upon entering, Serena went to the microfiche and started searching.

"I won't be long Darien, you can look around if you want." She said with a smile.

"Okay" Darien said, and decided to find out what had happened in the world for the three months he was gone. He failed to notice that Serena was looking up obituaries and news headlines about the very accident that claimed his life. After a few photocopies, she went to get Darien.

"Hey, wanna go for lunch?" Darien asked.

"Umm…I'm not really hungry yet. How about we drive around instead?" Serena asked.

"Serena not hunger, how is that possible?" Darien replied with a smile, but followed her to her car anyway, and got in to the passenger seat. About a forty five minute drive alter, Serena got off the highway, and started weaving through back streets of a neighborhood he had never seen. 'Oh no', he thought, 'does she know?' He kept quite until she stopped in front of a cemetery. Darien gulped, and tried to make like nothing was wrong.

"Where are we Serena?" Darien asked, trying not to make his voice crack.

"I want to visit a friend." Serena said as she got out of the car, and started walking up a path.

"Who is…" Darien asked, but stopped short at the spot where she had come to a halt. He read the headstone, and felt like his whole world came crashing down.

"Darien Shields" she read softly, as tears fell from her blue eyes. "What's going on Darien?" She asked as she pulled the papers with the obituary and the headlines of the accident. " If you are even him, which I find it hard to believe, considering the current situation." She said looking at him, her eyes filled with confusion and pain.

"I can explain Serena." Darien said, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"You better? How is it possible?" She asked between sobs. "D…Did you really die?"

"…Yes…" he said, as his head feel down in defeat. She moaned softly. 

"Darien do you know what this means?" She asked on the verge of going crazy with the logic of his dying, yet being here with her at the same time. "It's not possible! If you died, how are you here?"

"I came back" he replied never looking up from the ground.

"Why?" she asked softly, as she got up and turned his face so her tearful eyes looked into his midnight blue.

"Because, heaven is over rated." He said, trying to turn away.

"W…w…what?" she asked with confusion.

"For you…I came back because I need you. Heaven is nothing as long as you're not there." With a sign, he continued. "I wasn't supposed to have died when I did. I hadn't fulfilled my destiny, and I was sent back to try and make things right." He stated solemnly.

"But why me, how do I fit into all of this?" she asked.

"Because, I never told you something." He said on the verge of tears.

"Tell me something?" Serena asked.

"I have to tell you that I…I…I love you." He said, as a single tear feel down his cheek.

"Oh Darien, I love you with all my heart. I always have and I always will." She said with relief as she embraced him.

"W…Wh…What?" Darien asked with surprise at finding that his feelings for her were returned.

"I think it was love at first sight." She said with a smile, "although I would never admit it. The girls were always teasing me about it, and I feared that you being a college student and all, would reject me because you thought I was immature and a cry baby."

"Serena I never thought that, not once." Darien said, "I teased you because I liked you, and was afraid of showing you my true feelings."

"Looks like we had the same problem then." She said sadly.

"Yeah" Darien replied.

"What do we do now Darien, I don't know if things can go back to the way they were, I mean, you are still dead and all." Serena said.

"It'll work out." Darien said with a smile.

"H…How?" she asked with alarm.

"I completed my mission."

"What mission Darien?"

"I had to admit my feelings for you, and have you admit yours for me."

"Oh, was that all?" she asked rolling her eyes.

"Are you going to leave me then?" She asked sadly.

"No, I completed my mission. I can come back like nothing ever happened." He said happily.

"Really?!" she asked.

"Yes, to be with you." He said as he took her hand.

"I'd have it no other way." She said, linking her arm with his, as the two started to walk away, never turning back. The sun was started to fade, as night approached, but their time together was just beginning, not matter what should happen.

*****

"So Darien, how did you get into my room that day?" Serena asked.

"I walked through your front door." Darien replied calmly.

"…Funny…really, how did you get in?"

"I walked through" he protested, "I would prove it to you, but looks like I can't anymore." He said, trying to make her believe him.

"You could prove how much you love me thought." She said, as she stooped by her car.

"Like this?" he asked, as he gently slid his arm around her waist and kissed her.

"I'm not sure, better try again" she said, as his lips came down on hers once again.

"How about now?" he asked breathy.

"I don't know…" she said jokingly as a smile danced upon her lips, after they both had come up for air. Their lips met again, as they stood there under the streetlight embraced in each other's arms. The future laid unknown to them, but they had over come the past, and that was the real battle of finding each other.

A sequel? Tuxedo/Moon()Endy/Pri?

Any Suggestions?

Cynic (X)

3/14/01

6/28/01


End file.
